Stalled Deal Reactivation

Access note: this is a HubSpot-dependent motion. Skip it until HubSpot/CRM data or a FirstTouch-accessible HubSpot list exists.

Stalled Deal Reactivation

Outcome: Find contacts associated to open deals that are not Closed Won/Lost and have had no engagement for 60+ days, then build an owner-approved LinkedIn reactivation queue. AE self-serve path: for a one-time run, use a manually filtered HubSpot contact list of open deals with no engagement for 60+ days. RevOps/admin setup is only needed for recurring workflow automation. If RevOps wants automation, create or document the contact-based HubSpot workflow as an optional setup step. If the connected HubSpot portal or MCP cannot create workflows, output exact RevOps/admin setup steps and do not pretend it was automated.

First-run onboarding gate

Before running this skill for the first time in a workspace, load ../../references/onboarding.md and complete the onboarding questions. Do not proceed until you know: LinkedIn account type (free/basic = no connection notes; recommend 10 connection requests/day and never exceed the FirstTouch max of 20/day; Sales Navigator/Premium = connection notes available; recommend 20 connection requests/day and never exceed the FirstTouch max of 30/day), HubSpot access (MCP, service key/private app token, HubSpot list only, or none), and which play the user wants to run. Recommend high-intent plays before outbound to keep the LinkedIn account healthy. This is a HubSpot-specific play; do not run it unless HubSpot MCP/service-key access is connected.

When to use

• "Reactivate stalled deals" / "Which open deals have gone quiet?"
• A deal is still open but has no email, meeting, note, call, or LinkedIn engagement for 60+ days
• RevOps wants a contact-based HubSpot workflow that automatically catches no-decision risk before quarter-end
• You, or an AE/BDR if you have one, need owner-routed reactivation queues for quiet opportunities

Inputs

• Workflow object: contact-based HubSpot workflow only. Deal-based workflow triggers are unsupported; deal-based triggers are unsupported for this motion. Enroll contacts associated to qualifying deals instead.
• Deal stages in scope: default = contacts associated to deals in open pipeline stages excluding Closed Won and Closed Lost
• Engagement threshold: default = associated deal/contact has no engagement for 60+ days
• Engagement fields: last activity date, last contacted date, last meeting date, notes/calls/emails, and FirstTouch LinkedIn timeline activity where available
• Owner routing: HubSpot deal owner/contact owner and authorized FirstTouch sender
• Workflow action: create list/queue, enroll in FirstTouch flow, or prepare an approval table depending on the connected portal's available workflow actions

AE self-serve: build the list yourself (no admin needed)

You can build the one-time list in HubSpot's UI with a normal sales seat:

1. In HubSpot: Contacts -> Lists -> Create list -> Active list (contact-based).
2. Add filters:
   • Associated deal -> Deal stage -> is none of -> Closed Won, Closed Lost
   • Last activity date -> is more than -> 60 days ago
3. Optional: add "Contact owner is me" to scope it to your book.
4. Name it (for example "Stalled open deals - 60d quiet") and give the list name to the agent. Property labels vary slightly by portal; if a filter is missing, ask RevOps which property tracks last engagement. RevOps is only needed when you want this to run automatically every day as a workflow.

Step-by-step

1. Query or define the contact-based stalled-deal audience

FirstTouch/MCP cannot natively query the full stalled-open-deal cohort by itself; compound deal-stage plus engagement-age filtering must come from a HubSpot list or contact-based workflow. For a one-time founder/admin or AE run, first build or accept a HubSpot filtered contact list: associated deal is open, not Closed Won/Lost, and last activity/engagement is more than 60 days ago. RevOps is needed only to automate recurring enrollment. Build a workflow through the connected HubSpot/FirstTouch action cards only when the portal supports it and the user explicitly wants recurring automation. If the agent lacks workflow-create capability or the AE lacks HubSpot admin permissions, use ../../references/hubspot-setup.md to produce the manual RevOps/admin setup steps and stop before launch. Either way, this must be a contact-based HubSpot workflow. Deal-based workflow triggers are unsupported for this motion, so enroll contacts associated to qualifying deals. Use enrollment criteria that identify contacts where the associated deal has:

• Deal stage is not Closed Won
• Deal stage is not Closed Lost
• Deal is in an active/open pipeline stage
• Last engagement/activity is blank or older than 60 days
• Deal has at least one associated contact with a LinkedIn URL or an enrichment path
• Associated contact is not suppressed, opted out, unsubscribed, or already in an active outreach sequence

Recommended HubSpot trigger label: FT - Stalled open deal - 60d no engagement.

2. Pull the stalled open-deal cohort through enrolled contacts (HubSpot MCP)

For each enrolled contact, capture the qualifying associated deal: deal name, company, amount, stage, deal owner, contact owner, last engagement date, associated contacts, known stakeholders, prior notes, and recent FirstTouch/LinkedIn timeline activity.

Do not include Closed Won or Closed Lost deals in this play. Closed-lost win-back is a separate motion.

3. Run governance gates before drafting

For every deal/contact:

• Run Gate 0 suppression/DNC from ../../references/safety-governance.md
• Confirm the HubSpot owner and authorized FirstTouch sender match (Gate 2)
• Check duplicate/recent outreach and cooldown (Gate 1)
• Confirm the LinkedIn account has capacity under the user's daily cap (Gate 3)

4. Diagnose the stall

Infer the likely cause from HubSpot context:

• Single-threaded: only one active contact in the buying committee
• Champion quiet: champion stopped engaging but deal remains open
• Post-pricing silence: no response after commercial conversation
• Evaluation drift: no activity after discovery/demo
• Procurement/legal pause: stage advanced but no recent activity

5. Pick the reactivation angle

6. Draft (load firsttouch-messaging)

The reactivation must feel fresh, not like a nag. Lead with new context: a proof point, their recent news, a product update, or a useful next stakeholder. Never write "just checking in."

7. Present for owner approval (Gate 4)

Output a table: deal, company, amount, stage, owner, last engagement date, stall cause, target contact, angle, draft, and intended FirstTouch action. Every row must be marked awaiting approval.

8. Execute + log (FirstTouch MCP)

After approval only:

• before queueing any one-contact LinkedIn action, run get_guide with topic=dynamic_actions, then call add_dynamic_action in the supported order
• if a LinkedIn message should only send after a connection request is accepted, append it to the connection_accepted branch rather than queueing it as an immediate message
• send or queue the approved FirstTouch action
• run Gate 5 by logging the executed action to the HubSpot deal + contact timeline within minutes when the connected FirstTouch-HubSpot integration supports it; otherwise keep the FirstTouch execution record and state CRM logging was skipped
• tag stalled_open_deal_60d and the stall cause for attribution
• if HubSpot workflow action cards are unavailable in the connected portal, or the user lacks admin rights, output the manual HubSpot workflow/list setup steps from ../../references/hubspot-setup.md for RevOps/admin instead of pretending the UI exists

9. Track

Measure: reactivation replies, meetings re-opened, stage movement, and influenced pipeline by stall cause and owner.

Output

• HubSpot contact-based workflow criteria for FT - Stalled open deal - 60d no engagement
• Enrolled contacts associated to qualifying stalled open deals with diagnosed cause per deal
• Reactivation drafts, gated for owner approval
• Send/log confirmation after approval
• Tagged cohort for attribution

Examples

Deal: Acme, $48k, Stage: Negotiation, no engagement 67 days, post-pricing silence. Angle: New proof point. Draft (value touch to connected champion): "Dana, saw our pricing thread went quiet, so I wanted to share one approved proof point on the attribution question. If that was still the open thread, I can send the short version here."

Why this play wins

"No decision" is the #1 competitor. This workflow catches quiet open deals while they can still be revived, routes by owner, and keeps every touch approval-gated and attributable.

Pitfalls

• Including Closed Won or Closed Lost deals - do not. This play is only for open deals not Closed Won/Lost.
• Using a 14-day default - too noisy for a workflow. Default to 60+ days with configurable thresholds.
• "Just checking in" - the kiss of death. Always lead with new value/context.
• Ignoring the cause - a reactivation message that doesn't address why it stalled wastes the touch.
• Skipping suppression checks - RevOps must be able to prove DNC/opt-out handling before any workflow-based outreach.

Reference

• HubSpot setup reference: ../../references/hubspot-setup.md
• Messaging: ../../references/messaging-framework.md
• Safety: ../../references/safety-governance.md
• For generic HubSpot event touches, use ../hubspot-signal-to-linkedin-touch/SKILL.md.